Asked would his club use Ellis to attract Graham, Humphreys said: “Your instincts are right.

“Having Gareth certainly won’t be a disadvantage for us.

“Gareth has had a good experience at our club and that will certainly help.

“But who knows how much weight that will hold in James’ final decision?”

Graham is committed to St Helens for next year but is keen to join Ellis and Souths’ Sam Burgess in the NRL for 2012. Former Wests Tigers assistant coach Royce Simmons is now coach of St Helens, who desperately want to retain Graham.